Mingling Meat and Melons

The marriage of melons and deli-ready meats is a great August meal add-on, especially with Wolff’s Apple House offering plenty of honeydew, canary cantaloupe, sugar baby watermelon, seedless watermelon and yellow watermelon right now.

Di Bruno Bros., a vendor of freshly made cheeses available at Wolff’s, also sells a lineup of Italian deli meats that pair rather swimmingly with locally raised melons.

“Honeydew, cantaloupes are great with any prosciutto,” Scheckler says. “The saltiness of the meat is calmed down by the coolness of the melon. And seedless watermelon and yellow watermelon go well with a thinly sliced sweet sopressata.”

Scheckler recommends serving paired melons and meats as an appetizer, cutting your melon of choice into wedges with the prosciutto wrapped around each piece.

“These are light and refreshing on a hot day,” she says about these pairings. “Plus, you are getting some protein for energy as well as your carbs.”

Salads have some possibilities here, too.

“Crumbled feta cheese or crumbled goat cheese is great in a salad of seedless watermelon, with a little olive oil and lemon juice,” she offers.

Another idea Scheckler suggests is to put chunks of melon on a platter with slices of prosciutto and thinly sliced salami, but also add some marcona almonds for a considerable crunch factor.

“Don’t go overboard; keep it simple with good quality items,” she advises.

“Putting these foods together is like a symphony,” Scheckler says. “It should all come together smoothly. And we need to enjoy the benefits of good food. Freshly ripened melons with an artisan cured charcuterie are a treat for all! Enjoy!”